The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a battery system, and a battery control method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a battery system, and a battery control method that are used, for example, for a battery monitoring circuit.
A well-known technology for a battery pack formed of multiple cells equalizes the capacities of the cells by making capacity adjustments in accordance with capacity difference between the cells in order to prevent overdischarging and overcharging from being caused by different remaining capacities of the cells.
A technology described in International Publication WO 2011/102241 selects, from multiple cells, one or more cells having a voltage value equal to or higher than a cell capacity adjustment target voltage, and uses the selected cells to intermittently operate an intermittently operative unit that operates even while electrically powered equipment is at rest. Further, the technology described in International Publication WO 2011/102241 repeats this intermittent operation to decrease the voltage values of the selected cells, thereby reducing difference in remaining capacity between the cells without wastefully discharging battery energy stored in a battery pack.